Tonight at twilight is the Passover, the night which recalls when God protected His people from death and delivered them from bondage. Tonight, as Jews all over the world enjoy the Passover Feast of roasted lamb and bitter herbs, the youngest child will pose the question, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” The answer will be told in the recollection of the Passover story.
Life of Egyptian slavery had become very bitter for the Hebrews, and they groaned and cried out to their God for deliverance. God sent Moses, a Prophet or representative who speaks for God, to speak to Pharaoh and demand the release of His people so that they could worship Him freely. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he refused to release the Israelites; and in fact, he increased their workload of back-breaking toil.
God sent plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death of livestock, hail, locusts, and darkness. When Pharaoh still would not release the Hebrew slaves, God gave instructions for the first Passover. Moses and his brother Aaron, who became the High Priest of Israel, the one who mediated between God and the people, relayed God’s order to all the Hebrews in the land of Egypt.
“The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects. Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this firstmonth. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs— must be roasted over afire. Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.”
“These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover. On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son andfirstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord! But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. when I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
The Hebrews did as God instructed through Moses and Aaron and when God passed through the land of Egypt with the angel of death, not a hair on any Hebrew head was touched. In fact, it was so peaceful in the Jewish section of Egypt that not even a dog barked. But as the destroyer destroyed all the firstborn Egyptians and even their firstborn livestock, the Hebrews were ejected out of Egypt and made their way into the wilderness. They had been released from their chains of slavery and redeemed out of their hard labor, sweat, and toil. They were free to worship God, and they looked forward to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey, which God had promised to them through their patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
What does all of this have to do with us, especially if we are not Jewish? Well, perhaps your life has become very bitter. Perhaps you have been wounded, oppressed, or you toil like a slave but never seem to get ahead. If this is the case, then groan and cry out to God Almighty through the name of His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is our eternal Prophet, our eternal High Priest, and the one who, on this very night*, offered Himself as our eternal unblemished Passover Lamb to take away our sins and deliver us from bitterness and oppression. By God’s grace through faith in Jesus, we pass over from darkness to light, from bondage to freedom, from the sting of death to eternal life. Jesus was sent by God as His representative and to relay God’s instructions to God’s chosen people from all nations of the earth. The blood of Christ releases us from our chains of slavery to sin through God’s forgiveness, and by His grace, redeems us from the burden of working for our salvation. God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever would mark the doorpost of their heart with the blood of the Lamb of God would not be destroyed but have eternal life. Through Jesus Christ, who mediates between His followers and His Father, we are now free to worship God, and we look forward to heaven, a place where there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, which God has promised as an eternal inheritance to all of us who believe in Him.
Yes, tonight is different from all other nights! Praise the Lord for His work of redemption and for His mighty hand and outstretched arm which He uses to deliver salvation to His people! Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered–to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. Glory to God in the highest! Amen!
Scripture References: Exodus 11-15, John 3:16, Romans 8, Hebrews 4, Revelation 21:4, Luke 21:28, Revelation 5:12
The Crucifixion: Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19
Note: This is the day commemorated as Maundy Thursday in some churches around the world.
Originally published as: "The Night Different from All Other Nights" - Reprinted from The Obedience of Faith Blog - Copyright © 2013 Wendy Bowen – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE